When Bruce Weber took his morning walk through the green hills of Piedmont Park on Wednesday, he wore something you don’t often see in August in Atlanta: a jacket with a fleece collar.
“Oh, it felt brisk,” he said.
It was one of those days you wish for: cool and crisp, with a breeze that feels as if it’s washing away the stale air of late summer.
A trough of low pressure had settled over the Eastern United States, allowing air from Canada to seep further south. The overnight low at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was 60 degrees, according to meteorologist Keith Stellman of the National Weather Service. That was just three degrees above Atlanta’s record low for Aug. 27, set in 1879.
It was even lower at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport: 54, the lowest reading taken there on this day of the year. Temperature readings at that airport, in the northern metro area outside the city limits, only go back to 1998.
For a few precious hours on Wednesday morning, wherever exactly you were, Atlanta in August felt a little like New England in October. It was a perfect day, the sky a deeper and richer color than the pale blue of the summer doldrums, the sort of day where it feels almost equally good to wear a jacket or just short sleeves.
Credit: Thomas Lake
Credit: Thomas Lake
Alexandre Battezini was shooting hoops before work at the court in Midtown’s Piedmont Park. He had recently moved here from Florida, and this was a welcome change.
“Feels really good,” he said.
The tranquil water on Lake Clara Meer reflected the red granite spire of the city’s tallest building, the Bank of America Plaza. Canada geese foraged in the dew-covered grass of the Active Oval. The rubbery thud of tennis balls filled the air.
Up on Peachtree Street, two friends were taking a walk. Carol Jones had come to town for her friend’s retirement party. Like the man on the basketball court, she found these conditions a welcome change from Florida.
“I’ve been in the 105 heat index for the last three months,” Jones said, “so this is fabulous.”
Credit: Thomas Lake
Credit: Thomas Lake
On a hillside above the lake, a group of volunteers pulled weeds from a flower bed. Doug Widener, CEO of the Piedmont Park Conservancy, pulled up on a golf cart to chat with a reporter.
“I got in the park today and felt a little Christmas in the air,” he said.
It gave him an extra spring in his step.
Erica Smith was supervising the project. She grew up in New York.
“Came down for Morris Brown College, loved the weather, point of no return,” she said.
On Wednesday morning, she left the house without checking the weather. She wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. When she got to work, she found a jacket at her desk and put it on.
Credit: Thomas Lake
Credit: Thomas Lake
But a lot of people in Atlanta work indoors, and so they could only enjoy the weather for a few minutes. A man in a navy-blue suit stood on a motorized scooter just outside the park, waiting for the light to change. He was friendly, but too busy for an interview.
“No,” he said, just before charging up 14th Street, “I have a meeting I’m about to miss.”
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